Roofing for Unincorporated Charleston County homes: replacement, leaks and storm damage. In Unincorporated Charleston County, the 2021 IRC is in force. Any permit the job needs is ours to pull.
This page covers the parts of the county that are not inside a city — where the county, not a municipality, runs building and permits. The Census does not publish population or housing totals for that remainder on its own, so this page quotes none for it: the county-wide figures further down include every municipality as well.
Outside a town's limits, building permits in Charleston County come from the county's Building Inspection Services. On a roof job the contractor signs the county's Roof Underlayment Form, which sets out how underlayment goes on where the code requires wind design. National Register and county-designated historic properties in the unincorporated county also come under the county's Historic Preservation Ordinance: exterior repairs that change how a building looks need a certificate from the county's Historic Preservation Officer or Commission, while ordinary maintenance that changes nothing does not.
No completed roof in Unincorporated Charleston County is logged in our job records yet.
For Charleston County as a whole — every city in it as well as the unincorporated land — the Census Bureau counts 209,803 homes, with a median year built of 1991. 10,253 of them (5%) went up before 1940 and 81,032 (39%) in 2000 or later. The 2010s were the busiest decade, adding 37,713 of today's homes (18%).
About 20 years is the usual service life of an asphalt shingle roof, by the figure in HUD's Residential Rehabilitation Inspection Guide. That puts 128,771 homes in Charleston County, the 61% built before 2000, past at least one full roof life, and 23% (49,217 homes) go back before 1970, two roof lives and more. Homes from the 2000s (36,275 in Charleston County) are reaching their first replacement, while the 44,757 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with.
By building type: 121,738 detached houses (58%), 14,559 attached (7%). 29,245 homes (14%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 33,910 (16%) in buildings of ten units or more, whose roofs are normally an owner's or a board's call rather than a resident's. The count also takes in 10,231 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 64% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 36% rented. Read together, those figures point toward first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles, flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings and hail checks on newer roofs that look fine from the driveway.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 10,253 | 5% | |
| 1940s | 7,261 | 3% | |
| 1950s | 13,607 | 6% | |
| 1960s | 18,096 | 9% | |
| 1970s | 23,125 | 11% | |
| 1980s | 28,969 | 14% | |
| 1990s | 27,460 | 13% | |
| 2000s | 36,275 | 17% | |
| 2010s | 37,713 | 18% | |
| 2020 or later | 7,044 | 3% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 209,803 homes, 178,975 occupied. Survey estimates.
Between 2016 and 2025 there were 26 reports of 1-inch-plus hail in Charleston County as a whole in the records of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, on 13 separate days. 1 of them was 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 1.75 inches, came on March 20, 2018. The most recent was 1 inch on July 14, 2024. A report needs someone to see the hail and send it in, so the count is a floor, not a full tally.
A bruised shingle can look fine for a season or two, which is why a storm inspection after a date like these is worth having.
The county building code lists roofing among the work that needs its own permit, for installation or repair, and the county's sub-trade permit form has a line for roofing. Fees are based on the value of the job: $1,000 or less has no fee unless an inspection is needed (then $75); $1,001 to $2,000 is $75; $2,001 to $50,000 is $75 plus $6 for each additional $1,000. Starting work before the permit is issued doubles the fee. In an emergency, repairs can start first, but the permit application must be filed by the next business day.
Unincorporated Charleston County enforces the 2021 IRC. The county enforces the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications (in force since January 1, 2023), with the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code. Projects submitted on or after January 1, 2027 must meet the 2024 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications. The codes are adopted statewide by the South Carolina Building Codes Council; the county's own building code (Ordinance 2283, adopted March 26, 2024) covers permits, fees, inspections and contractor licensing.
The published number is 843-202-6930. The building official on record is Hakim Bayyoud, Director, Building Inspection Services. The department page is here.
Wind design changes with location across greater Charleston: the published ultimate design wind speeds run 133–150 mph, and the building department can say which figure applies to a given address. See the roofing code guide for what it governs.
Also in Charleston County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated Charleston County | Yes | 2021 IRC | — |
| Adams Run | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1984 |
| Awendaw | Yes | 2021 IRC | 2001 |
| Charleston | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1995 |
| Edisto Island | Yes | 2021 IRC | — |
| Folly Beach | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1990 |
| Hollywood | Not published | 2021 IRC | 2003 |
All 22 Charleston County cities side by side →
The county building code lists roofing among the work that needs its own permit, for installation or repair, and the county's sub-trade permit form has a line for roofing. Fees are based on the value of the job: $1,000 or less has no fee unless an inspection is needed (then $75); $1,001 to $2,000 is $75; $2,001 to $50,000 is $75 plus $6 for each additional $1,000. Starting work before the permit is issued doubles the fee. In an emergency, repairs can start first, but the permit application must be filed by the next business day.
Unincorporated Charleston County enforces the 2021 IRC. The county enforces the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications (in force since January 1, 2023), with the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code. Projects submitted on or after January 1, 2027 must meet the 2024 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications. The codes are adopted statewide by the South Carolina Building Codes Council; the county's own building code (Ordinance 2283, adopted March 26, 2024) covers permits, fees, inspections and contractor licensing.
The building official on record is Hakim Bayyoud, Director, Building Inspection Services. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
Not yet: no completed roof in Unincorporated Charleston County is in our job records, so this page shows no job count.
Researched 2026-10-24; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA SPC. Sources: www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · www.charlestoncounty.gov · llr.sc.gov · llr.sc.gov · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
